Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The Benedictine Abbey of St Saviour's, Faversham, was founded in 1148 by King Stephen as the burial place for his descent line. It was dissolved in 1538 and mostly demolished soon after. Excavations in 1965 revealed, however, extensive chalk foundations of a large Abbey with cloisters and other attached buildings. It produced many finds of, for example, glazed tiles, carved stonework and window glass. A number of burials were also found. Most of the Abbey site now lies under the playing fields of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School. The only surviving standing buildings are 80 Abbey St, a fifteenth century timber framed former guest house attached to the main gatehouse and 81 Abbey St, another fifteenth century timber framed building which may also have formed part of the Abbey complex. The inner and outer gatehouses survived until the eighteenth century.

Monument Types

• BENEDICTINE MONASTERY (Medieval - 1148 AD to 1538 AD)
• INHUMATION CEMETERY (Medieval - 1148 AD to 1538 AD)

Associated Finds

• FLOOR TILE (Medieval - 1148 AD to 1538 AD)
• HUMAN REMAINS (Medieval - 1148 AD to 1538 AD)
• SHERD (Medieval - 1148 AD to 1538 AD)

Full description

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[TR 0182 6172] Remains of St. Saviour's Abbey [NR] (Benedictine founded A.D. 1147.) [NAT] (1) The Benedictine Abbey of St. Saviour, Faversham, was found in 1148 and dissolved in 1538. No. 80 Abbey Street, a 15th century timber framed building, was the guest house adjoining the outer gatehouse, and No. 81, a 15th century timber framed cottage, may also have formed part of the abbey building. (2-4) Scheduled. (5) The remains are as described. No. 80 is in excellent condition and No. 81 is in fair condition. Both buildings are private residences. See GP, AO/63/129/5 and 6. (6) The plan of the church and claustral buildings of Faversham Abbey was revealed by excavation under the direction of B. J. Philp. (7)(8) [TR 0198 6177] Site of Abbey indicated by Mr Philp. (9) Nothing remains of the features excavated by Mr Philp. The site is now occupied by the playing fields of Queen Elizabeth's School. No.s 80 and 81 Abbey Street remain as described by Phillips (Authority 6) in 1963. (10) The Royal Abbey, Faversham: excavations of this extensive site, covering 4-5 acres, undertaken during January and February 1965 in advance of development projects, located the site of the Abbey and examined its associated buildings. The abbey was founded by Stephen in 1147 for the royal sepulchres and work began in 1148. Although colonized by Cluniac monks, the monastery was an independent house. The church itself proved to be a vast structure - 361ft. in length and nearly 80ft. in width. Stephen, Matilda and Eustace were all buried within. It was clearly one of the great abbeys of the realm. To the north was a correspondingly large cloister and attached buildings including a Chapter House, Frater, Dorter, Cellar and West Range. The church and claustral buildings were reduced in size at a later date, and a large cemetery covered part of the original structure. The many small finds included carved stonework, window glass, lead, floor tiles and several coins. The tiles form an important series ranging in date from the 12th - 15th centuries. The glass, painted and coloured is some of the earliest of its type found. The abbey was surrendered in 1538, the royal tombs robbed, and thorough demolition of the church begun. (See Illustration Card for plan.) (11)(12) Additional bibliography. (13) [TR 020 617] Faversham Abbey, scheduled. (14)

From the National Heritage List for England:

The monument includes the below-ground remains of the medieval Royal Abbey of St Saviour. The site lies to the north of the modern settlement of Faversham Creek and Abbey Street. Faversham abbey was founded by King Stephen in 1147 for the royal tombs, and building work commenced in 1148. The foundation was originally colonised by 12 Cluniac monks under Abbot Clarembold, who arrived on the site in 1148. The abbey appears to have been run as an independent house, but by the reign of Henry III the brethren were all Benedictine. In 1152 Matilda was buried in the abbey, followed by her son Eugene in 1153 and Stephen himself in 1154. In the Taxatio Ecclesiastica taken for Pope Nicholas IV in 1291, it was recorded that Faversham abbey owned temporalities worth 21 pounds 19s 7d in Ludenham, Goodnestone, Graveney, Harty, Hawkinge and Boughton Malherbe; 1 pound 2s 7d in London; 24 pounds 7s 10d in Radwicke and 80 pounds 18s 5d in Tring. By 1535 when the Valor Ecclesiastica was taken for Henry VIII, the gross value of the abbey's holdings in Kent alone was given as 261 pounds 5s 2d. The abbey was surrendered to the Crown on 8 July 1538, and the abbot and eight remaining monks were pensioned off. On 10 May 1539, the king sent the order for the church and cloister buildings to be demolished, and for the stone from the site to be removed. By 1541 material from these buildings was being shipped across the Channel to help in the building of the fortifications at Calais. Documentary records suggest that before c.1300 the abbey precinct covered an area of approximately 24 acres, although by the start of the 14th century, this holding had been reduced to 16 acres. The precise extent of the pre- c.1300 precinct is unknown, but by the 14th century, the boundaries of the precinct ran along Faversham Creek on the west, containing the areas of the inner and outer courts, and along the extent of the marshes on the north, later marked by a stone wall. The line of the southern boundary can be seen to follow the line on which the surviving gatehouse stands, and on the east the stream would have indicated the extent of the abbey's landholdings. The arrangement of buildings within the precinct is known from partial excavation conducted by the Reculver Excavation Group in 1965. This revealed that the church and cloister were located centrally within the area. The church was originally designed on a pretentious scale, 361 feet long, built of Kentish ragstone with a Caen stone dressing on the interior. The cloister stood to the north of the church, and was designed on an equally impressive scale. The Chapter House stood in the south of the cloister, with the dorter to the north. By about 1220, the original building plan of 1148 had not been finished, and a scheme of drastic modifications was undertaken, due mainly to financial constraints following the cancellation of the annual grant in 1209. The church was reduced by almost 100 feet to 260 feet in length, with the cloister being reduced in proportion. It is not known why Faversham was chosen by King Stephen to house his royal abbey, but several important monastic houses had already been established on other Kentish estuaries, and this may have made Faversham Creek appear an equally attractive prospect. The foundation may have been wealthy, but Visitations in 1368 and 1511 both revealed an unsatisfactory state of affairs at the abbey, and that `women had ingress to the cloister and refectory'. In 1671 Thomas Southouse described the area of the abbey: `In this place sometime stood the church of this convent so totally long since demolished that there is not so much as a stone or underpinning left to inform posterity whereabouts it stood'. A first attempt at excavation was made by Edward Crow c.1855-1861. His work in Sextry Orchard revealed `chalk and flint foundations, much stone and broken tile…'.

Reasons for Designation
From the time of St Augustine's mission to re-establish Christianity in AD 597 to the reign of Henry VIII, monasticism formed an important facet of both religious and secular life in the British Isles. Settlements of religious communities, including monasteries, were built to house communities of monks, canons (priests), and sometimes lay-brothers, living a common life of religious observance under some form of systematic discipline. It is estimated from documentary evidence that over 700 monasteries were founded in England. These ranged in size from major communities with several hundred members to tiny establishments with a handful of brethren. They belonged to a wide variety of different religious orders, each with its own philosophy. As a result, they vary considerably in the detail of their appearance and layout, although all possess the basic elements of church, domestic accommodation for the community, and work buildings. Monasteries were inextricably woven into the fabric of medieval society, acting not only as centres of worship, learning and charity, but also, because of the vast landholdings of some orders, as centres of immense wealth and political influence. They were established in all parts of England, some in towns and others in the remotest of areas. Many monasteries acted as the foci of wide networks including parish churches, almshouses, hospitals, farming estates and tenant villages. Some 75 of these religious houses belonged to the Cistercian order founded by St Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century. The Cistercians - or "white monks", on account of their undyed habits - led a harsher life than earlier monastic orders, believing in the virtue of a life of austerity, prayer and manual labour. Seeking seclusion, they founded their houses in wild and remote areas where they undertook major land improvement projects. Their communities were often very large and included many lay brethren who acted as ploughmen, dairymen, shepherds, carpenters and masons. The Cistercians' skills as farmers eventually made the order one of the richest and most influential. They were especially successful in the rural north of England where they concentrated on sheep farming. The Cistercians made a major contribution to many facets of medieval life and all of their monasteries which exhibit significant surviving archaeological remains are worthy of protection.

Faversham abbey is an example of a medieval royal foundation, with documentary records dating from its construction in the 12th century through to its dissolution in 1538. Partial excavations have revealed the impressive scale of the original plan for the church and claustral buildings, and the subsequent alterations made in the 13th century. Other unexcavated archaeological remains relating to ancillary buildings will survive in the area. An Iron Age enclosure and Roman villa are also known from partial excavation to occur within the area later defined as the abbey precinct. These will provide information relating to the early history of the site, and its development around the time of the Roman invasion.

In 2003 an evaluation was carried out by Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company. Demolition debris and the remains of walls were found, probably relating to a monastic structure on the north side of the complex. Part of the perimeter wall was recorded with sections of surviving medieval fabric. (24-25)

PRINT COLLECTION (Collection). SKE6529.

PRINT COLLECTION (Collection). SKE6529.

<1> OS 1:1250 1958 (OS Card Reference). SKE48176.

<2> Med Religious Houses England and Wales 1953 66 (Knowles and Hadcock) (OS Card Reference). SKE46818.

<3> VCH Kent 2 1926 137-41 (R C Fowler) (OS Card Reference). SKE50943.

<4> MHLG (1103/11/A June 1949) 5 (OS Card Reference). SKE46912.

<5> AM England and Wales 1961 59 (MOW) (OS Card Reference). SKE33023.

<6> F1 ASP 02-AUG-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE41890.

<7> Excavations 1964 11 (MOW) (OS Card Reference). SKE41687.

<8> L Medway Arch 32 March 1965 (OS Card Reference). SKE45982.

<9> Oral - B J Philp, W Wickham - 9 11 65 (OS Card Reference). SKE47886.

<10> F2 CFW 18-NOV-69 (OS Card Reference). SKE43254.

<11> KAR 1 April 1965 6 (B Philp) (OS Card Reference). SKE45236.

<12> Philp, B. J., 1968, Excavations at Faversham, 1965: The Royal Abbey, Roman Villa and Belgic farmstead (Monograph). SWX7188.

<13> Med Religious Houses England and Wales 1971 54 65 (D Knowles and R N Hadcock) (OS Card Reference). SKE46822.

<14> DOE (IAM) AMs England 2 1978 111 (OS Card Reference). SKE40696.

<15> DOE (HHR) Faversham Boro Kent August 1972 12-13 (OS Card Reference). SKE40564.

<16> Buildings of England (ed N Pevsner) NE and E Kent 1983 318 322 323 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38403.

<17> Arch J 126 1969 248-9 (A J Percival) (OS Card Reference). SKE36553.

<18> Faversham Institute Journal 12-14 (OS Card Reference). SKE43410.

<19> Kent Arch Review No.95 (1989) 110-118. (OS Card Reference). SKE45874.

<20> Field report for monument TR 06 SW 9 - August, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5280.

<21> Field report for monument TR 06 SW 9 - November, 1969 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5281.

<22> REMAINS OF ST. SAVIOUR'S ABBEY AT FAVERSHAM FROM NORTH WEST. (Photograph). SKE2533.

<23> REMAINS OF ST. SAVIOUR'S ABBEY AT FAVERSHAM, FORMER GREAT HOUSE AND 15TH CENTURY HOUSE, FROM WEST. (Photograph). SKE2534.

<24> Swale and Thames Archaeological Survey Company, 2004, Archaeological Evaluation on land known as the Garage Site, Abbey Road, Faversham, Kent. Revised Report March 2004 (Unpublished document). SKE24320.

<25> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading